Log Book
March 2007
March 2007
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After successful engine repairs – completed on Sam’s 72nd birthday March 1 - we left San Diego on
March 2, 2007, for Mexico. John Paul Watts of SEA was our crew for this journey. En route to and
around La Paz we saw gray whales, blue whales, dolphins, porpoises, sea lions, elephant seals, small
jumping manta rays, leaping bill fish (like a sword fish) and a great variety of water birds. Sometimes
we motored and sometimes we sailed. The weather got warmer the more “souther” we went. We
arrived in La Paz March 21 and spent the remainder of the month enjoying some of the anchorages
and marinas in the La Paz vicinity, and several cultural entertainment events in the city. Leah Pepe
also of SEA joined us for a week. For highlights of our stops, keep reading.
Ensenada. We arrived March 3. There were strong Santa Ana’s (warm winds from the land) blowing
and the port was ‘closed’ by the authorities (meaning no one could go out and come back in, like
fishing and excursion boats) that Saturday. We partially checked in on Saturday and had to return to
finish checking in and to check out on Sunday, paying overtime fees for the privilege: there were two
cruise ships in port which consumed much of the Immigration officer’s time and then the computer
systems were down in the Port Captain’s office. We stayed at Marina Ensenada – no showers and no
power on the docks but it was fine. That night we had dinner with two young women who had
sailed from Turkey; they had experienced some near-hurricane storms in the Pacific after coming
through the Panama Canal and had stopped for respite and repairs in Ensenada. Their stories were
very interesting, the captain raised in the US and an American citizen born in the Ukraine and traveling
with an American passport and her single crew member also being Ukrainian with a Russian passport.
The winds stopped blowing by Sunday morning and we left around noon.
Santo Tomas. We arrived at this anchorage in the evening March 4 to get a few hours sleep. We
did not go ashore, just a fishing village and no good landing. We never saw much signs of life, no
lights or generators, just structures. The wind started to build shortly after midnight; Sam felt that
we could sail off the hook and through the kelp beds. To you landlubbers, running the engine in
heavy kelp (in Spanish its called sargasso) can tangle the prop, so we use caution when motoring in
such areas. Besides, midnight was the time to leave to be sure of arriving in at our next stop during
daylight.
Isla San Martin. We arrived the evening of March 5, before sundown, and anchored in Caleta
Hassler, also known as “the hook.” This is an extinct volcano with two peaks. There was a fishing
village; when we landed there were signs of habitation - shacks, flapping clothes, overturned boats,
traps and lines – but no persons except ourselves that we could find. We hiked over to the lagoon
and observed the harbor seal colony from a distance (although we did see one beached seal up close
away from the rest of the seals, she may have been ill or dying). At one point during our little
excursion, we encountered some very nasty cactus (rather like balls with 1-inch long spikes) that
stuck on our shoes, socks, carry bags, etc. John Paul flung one off his bag and it flew across the path
and embedded itself in Susie’s shin and she screamed and had to pull her pants leg away from her skin
to get the sucker out. You couldn’t get them off with your hands because they stuck to
everything. Never want to see those little things again!
Isla San Benitos Oeste. We left San Martin about noon March 6 and arrived in the San Benito’s the
following afternoon. These are 3 small islands with a seasonal fishing village on Oeste (West) and
elephant seals on Oeste and Centro (Middle) and not much on Este (East). The anchorage off the
fishing village was beautiful and we went ashore that evening to find only a few fisherman and some
Italian researchers studying the elephant seal colonies. There were 2 large male “elefante marinos” on
the beach where we landed the dinghy, oblivious to the fishermen’s activities but very aware of us
coming ashore. They whuffled and blew dirt through their very large noses and whumped around
the beach trying to get away from us, so we left them alone. One of the fishermen escorted us
behind the village, showing us the path to the rookery (nursery) and El Faro (the lighthouse) and we
decided to make those trips the next day. The next day, Sam noticed that the large male branded
“Nico” on the landing beach did not seem to mind the comings and goings of the fishermen, so he
got very close in an attempt to touch him but “Nico” reared back and Sam fell on his butt backing
away. That attempt having failed, we were able to get very close to the pups at the rookery and
took some great pictures. John Paul hiked up to El Faro (the lighthouse) for a wonderful view of the
surrounding area. A great day, and Susie in particular enjoyed the elephant seals.
Turtle Bay. We left The Benitos on March 8 in the afternoon and did an overnight passage to Turtle
Bay. We took our dinghy ashore the next day, landing at the old pier and getting out of the dinghy
on a newly-welded angled ladder, which Susie was proud she could negotiate (the old one was
straight up and rotten wood). After leaving our laundry with Dolores for washing and line-drying, we
explored the town. We found an internet café and checked our email and ate lunch ashore, then
went back to pick up the laundry but it was not dry. So we made arrangements for fuel to be
brought to the boat the next morning – Sunday - by Ernesto, the brother of Dolores, and he brought
out our laundry in his panga with the diesel. We pulled anchor and took off again.
Bahia Abreojos. Susie was hoping to arrange for a tour of San Ignacio lagoon to see the whales up
close in this protected area, but it didn’t happen. We arrived March 12 and discovered that no tours
are run from Abreojos and even if we could have gotten a ride from someone in town (no taxis or
buses) to the inland side of San Ignacio it would have been 150 miles one way. With some help via
cell phone and internet from our ever-patient friend Kris Houck, we had lots of phone numbers and
people to talk to, but not the right people (as we later found out) because as far as they were
concerned, our boat being 10 miles from the mouth of the lagoon was the same as being in China.
Maybe next time, because we discovered from another cruiser at our next stop that there is a
certified tour group that will pick up cruisers from their boats if they anchor just outside the protected
lagoon. So instead of having a whale tour, we caught a fishing panga ashore (we rode with all the
traps and the fresh fish flopping in the hold) and arranged for return passage. There was an internet
connection at the library and we had lunch at a little place called Juanita’s. The panga ride back was
very interesting; our “taxi drivers” put their fishing gear back on and had the tractor push the panga
into the surf, then pushed it off the wheeled trailer and out, with one wading behind and one inside
using the oars. They had to wait for the right breaks in the heavy surf and we finally made it, and we
felt like rodeo contestants! Our pangeros were mucho macho!
Bahia Magdalena. We arrived on March 14 in this beautiful shallow bay and met a whale going out
right next to our boat as we came in. We arrived about 5 PM that evening and after setting the
anchor, had dinner and went to bed. The next morning Gregorio, the Port Captain, came out in his
panga and asked to see our check in papers and boat documentation, which we provided, and then
we signed his book and gifted him some tee shirts for himself and his wife. A very nice man. There
were three other boats in the anchorage (Sailsoon, Sweetie and Estrella). When we all got our
dinghies launched and landed ashore, we had lunch together at a little restaurant on the beach and
then dinghied over to the sand spit. After a hike over a half mile down a sand and dirt road, past the
swamps and mangroves, we came to Bahia Santa Maria (which opens directly onto the Pacific). This
beach is 11 miles long and we walked only a short part; Susie was hoping to find a sand dollar because
allegedly this beach is famous for them, and indeed one fine specimen was located. A second smaller
sand dollar was found, but it crumbled. She also collected a great many shells, on the beach at
Puerto Magdalena in town, and a few others at Santa Maria. John Paul treated us to dinner ashore
again at the restaurant (there is only one) where we had shrimp prepared with garlic and butter,
lobster prepared with garlic and butter, and breaded pan fried fresh white fish – all served up with
delicious warm flour tortillas and beans. All the seafood was local.
Cabo San Lucas. Arriving about noon on March 17, we got fuel and had an ice cream bar, then
went back out of the harbor and anchored off shore from hotel row along the beach. We made this
passage from Mag Bay without our auto pilot; there is something wrong with the motor so we had to
hand-steer the entire way and were more tired upon our arrival than usual after a long passage. The
weather was hot and the water looked so blue and clean and inviting, that we followed John Paul’s
lead and swam around the boat. The boarding ladder we so wished we had the last time we were in
the Sea of Cortez got used for the first time and it works great. It was a beautiful swim – we even
washed up with sailor soap. In the evening we took our dinghy into the harbor – a little wet and
lumpy ride – and tied up to show John Paul some of this expensive tourist trap. We saw Squid Roe
and The Giggling Marlin and decided to eat dinner at Cabo Wabo. It was not only St Patrick’s Day but
also spring break for many colleges, so the town was full of young people looking for a good time.
We left before things got too rowdy and back to the boat by 10 PM – after a mocha stop for John
Paul and gelatos at Senor Sweets for all. The anchorage was not as rolly as had been our experience
in the past and we decided not to pay $160 for one night of dock space. It was a comfortable
evening to sleep, after the banana boats and parasailers and jet-skiers got off the water.
Los Frailes. It was all motoring March 18 to our first official stop inside the Sea of Cortez – what little
wind there was came primarily from the north and on the nose. There were periodic patches of fog
and then sunshine. We saw lots of whales – spouting, showing their tails, even some breaching.
There were a few we got to see up fairly close, only a few boat lengths away. We also saw small
jumping manta rays when we got into the anchorage - they look like squares of black and white paper
trying to fly – a small school of flying fish, and the usual welcoming committee of large gray dolphin.
Los Muertos. This anchorage is named after the moorings called “dead men” which held the large
silver ore barges many years ago. An attempt has been made to rename the location “Bay of Dreams”
in hopes that more tourists will visit. The Giggling Marlin (out of Cabo San Lucas) has an establishment
here on the beach, a new facility with outdoor showers, nice clean restrooms and changing rooms
and a reasonable menu. We observed several families of local Mexicans and “Norte Americanos” who
live nearby enjoying the beach and the restaurant and there were several other cruising boats in the
anchorage. When scouting out a potential anchor site, we ran Catch The Wind aground in 5 feet of
water – the depth sounder went from 16 to 5 feet with no gradual decrease and we came to a
complete stop. Sam tried to power out and do a little dredging, but to no avail. So he hung the
bosun chair on the end of the boom, had John Paul sit in it, and swung him out over the side, and
had me push the boom out as far as possible. This little trick worked – putting more weight on one
side of the boat to allow it to heel over and raise up the keel – and we provided the evening’s
entertainment. We safely anchored a little further down the beach in 15 feet of water. Sam and
John Paul swam and Susie showered, then we went dinghied ashore to The Giggling Marlin for
dinner.
Ballandra Cove. Notice that since leaving Cabo San Lucas, we did not make any more overnight
passages. There are good anchorages about 8 to 10 hours apart inside the Sea of Cortez until you
get near La Paz, and then there are many more even closer together. We traveled to Ballandra on
March 20 and arrived about 3 PM, and this time we were the first boat inside the anchorage. Several
other boats came in after us, but there was room for all. We packed a picnic dinner and Sam made
two trips ashore in the Walker Bay rigged for sailing, first John Paul and the bags of stuff, then Susie.
We waded and swam and ate our dinner while watching the sun set behind Mushroom Rock (which
some cruising guides say is now a fiberglass replica, but Sam actually felt and knocked on the
mushroom rock and it is a rock and mortar reconstruction replacing the original natural rock because it
fell over many times – it is definitely NOT a natural formation now) and then Susie and Sam sailed back
in very little wind to the boat. We unrigged the WB and put on the oars to return to John Paul,
because it was getting dark fast and there was not enough wind to sail quickly. It was a very calm
evening until after midnight, when the wind came howling through the anchorage and continued
through until the morning; it probably gusted up to 25 knots or more at times and it was a wild
night. We left about 8 AM in the morning, with the sails stowed, and powered up the channel.
La Paz – City of Peace. It was a rough ride the morning of March 21 up the narrow channel to La
Paz, motoring into the wind and current, but the closer we got to the city, the flatter the waters
became. We tootled around the anchorage outside Marina de la Paz and finally picked out a spot in
about 20 feet of water. John Paul and Sam put up our brand new boat awning, which is a half-
cylinder shaped arrangement that runs from the back of the mast to the beginning of the solar panels
on the bimini at the stern. Susie told him that if he had parked the boat in the shade to start with,
we wouldn’t have to go to all that trouble! But our boat is distinctive – it looks like a covered
wagon.
While in La Paz, we did some laundry, enjoyed some meals out, walked the Embarcadero, had Thrifty
Ice Cream, went to the Mercado, bought fresh tortillas, etc. Susie played Mexican Train dominoes
with other cruisers. We stayed some of the time at the anchorage near Vista Coral which is a virtual
marina: you anchor out and pay a monthly fee of $106 then you can land at their dinghy dock, use
their showers and bathrooms, and have bottled water brought out to your boat. It’s much less
expensive than a marina which for our size boat costs about $27 per day or $600 per month.
We also attended a symphony in which our friend 13-year old Franck Rudigoz of Ocean Eyes played
the French horn. Franck, his mother Betsy and his step-dad Greg have a home in Los Barriles and
keep their boat at Marina Costa Baja. They come in to La Paz on weekends for Franck’s music lesson
and junior symphony rehearsals, and during the week he attends a Mexican private school; he is now
fluent in Spanish.
On March 26 another friend came down to visit us – Leah Pepe, a friend also of our crew John Paul
Watts and a member of SEA (Sailing Education Adventures) in the SF Bay Area. She spent a week
with us in the La Paz area, during which time we went out to some of the other anchorages in the La
Paz area and the islands. The day we left El Cardenal at Isla Partida we flew back to La Paz in a
“norther” which is a strong wind that comes up suddenly and briskly from the north in the Sea of
Cortez. This was just like an ordinary day on San Francisco Bay to the crew of Catch The Wind. We
tied up at Don Jose Marina back in La Paz to wait out the blow and make it more convenient for shore
trips, dining out, errands and sight-seeing for the crew and dental appointments for Sam. This marina
stay also prompted the visiting crew to clear the decks and completely wash down the boat – Catch
The Wind never looked better! Sam and Susie don’t know how they can keep up with the swabbing
when John Paul and Leah depart.
The night of March 28 we attended a special fund-raising event at Marina de la Paz – a traveling
troupe of tumblers, jugglers, trampoline jumpers and dancers, somewhat similar to Cirque du Soleil. It
was a very good cause and very good show as well. The night of March 29 we attended another
fund raiser at Ciao Molino, where for $5.00 and two cans of food (donation) we got a spaghetti
dinner and enjoyed a performance of South American music.
La Paz Vicinity. We departed the evening of Leah’s arrival for Playa Pichilingue, where we spent one
night at anchor. The next day we sailed and motored over to Los Islotes, famous for the colonies of
sea lions. While one person stayed on the boat and drifted about (there is no shallow water for an
anchorage here) the rest our little group of 4 swam in the beautiful water. John Paul and Leah had a
close encounter with a sea lion as they swam through the arch but it was gone by the time Susie
came through. We saw a lot of beautiful fish swimming directly underneath us, visible without snorkel
masks: garibaldi, clown fish, zebra striped fish among them (Susie doesn’t know the proper names of
all those pretty fish). Sam got into the water for a short swim, too. We are really enjoying the new
boarding ladder we have: it has 2 steps underneath the water and 3 steps above the water, with 6-
inch standoffs, and it is wonderful to be able to jump off the boat knowing that we can get back on.
(Last year we missed out on several opportunities to swim because we did not have a good, safe way
to get back on the boat; we had to climb partially up a stern ladder, fall into the dinghy and then
climb out of the dinghy back onto the boat.) During our passage out to Islotes and then back to the
islands to anchor for the night, we saw many jumping manta rays and then, to our great surprise, a
large blue (we think) whale very close to the boat – just thrilling! After dropping anchor at El
Cardenal, one of the many beautiful coves on Isla Partida. Leah and John Paul rowed ashore in the
dinghy and checked out the beach and mangroves. They hiked over to the east side of the island
(about a 15 minute hike). John Paul insisted on ladies first, so Leah got the blisters (even with
gloves) on the row ashore against the wind and John Paul the gentleman rowed back with the wind.
After John Paul and Leah had a cool swim the next morning, we briskly sailed back to La Paz.
On Friday, March 30, after Sam’s dental appointment, we left La Paz intending to anchor at Ballandra.
But the closer we got, the larger the swells became and the more intense the continuing north
wind. We saw a boat in the anchorage there heading back out, with their mast swaying like a
pendulum; we radioed them and got a report from Chinook that it was an impossible place to spend
any time unless you wanted to stay up all night watching, so we turned around and they followed us
back to Playa Pichilingue, where after a swim, we spent a nice evening and played Mexican Train
dominoes.
March 31 morning found us leaving Playa Pichilingue because of the large number of flies and moving
over to Lobos, where there were still some flies but not quite as bad. We anchored in quiet water.
John Paul and Leah swam ashore and hiked in the mangroves ashore, while Susie stayed on the boat
and prepared tax materials for the accountant and Sam read and slept. That evening we finished last
night’s Mexican Train.
Moving again because of the flies on April 1, we found much calmer waters outside the anchorage
than on previous days, so we motored on up to Ballandra and spent the day on the hook in relatively
calm and clear waters, with most everyone enjoying swimming, snorkeling, shelling, walking the
beach, sailing the dinghy, resting, sunning and reading.
The great thing about having two additional crew on the boat with Sam and Susie is that we have
enough people already on board to (1) make sourdough blueberry pancakes without looking for two
more guests to help us consume them, and (2) play Mexican Train! Leah flies home on April 2 and
John Paul plans to leave on April 4 (weather permitting) aboard the catamaran New Focus sailing from
La Paz back to San Francisco. We have very much enjoyed having these friends with us and invite
anyone else looking to get away for a little while to come on down and join us in the beautiful Sea of
Cortez.
Until next time,
Sam and Susie
S/V Catch The Wind
March 2, 2007, for Mexico. John Paul Watts of SEA was our crew for this journey. En route to and
around La Paz we saw gray whales, blue whales, dolphins, porpoises, sea lions, elephant seals, small
jumping manta rays, leaping bill fish (like a sword fish) and a great variety of water birds. Sometimes
we motored and sometimes we sailed. The weather got warmer the more “souther” we went. We
arrived in La Paz March 21 and spent the remainder of the month enjoying some of the anchorages
and marinas in the La Paz vicinity, and several cultural entertainment events in the city. Leah Pepe
also of SEA joined us for a week. For highlights of our stops, keep reading.
Ensenada. We arrived March 3. There were strong Santa Ana’s (warm winds from the land) blowing
and the port was ‘closed’ by the authorities (meaning no one could go out and come back in, like
fishing and excursion boats) that Saturday. We partially checked in on Saturday and had to return to
finish checking in and to check out on Sunday, paying overtime fees for the privilege: there were two
cruise ships in port which consumed much of the Immigration officer’s time and then the computer
systems were down in the Port Captain’s office. We stayed at Marina Ensenada – no showers and no
power on the docks but it was fine. That night we had dinner with two young women who had
sailed from Turkey; they had experienced some near-hurricane storms in the Pacific after coming
through the Panama Canal and had stopped for respite and repairs in Ensenada. Their stories were
very interesting, the captain raised in the US and an American citizen born in the Ukraine and traveling
with an American passport and her single crew member also being Ukrainian with a Russian passport.
The winds stopped blowing by Sunday morning and we left around noon.
Santo Tomas. We arrived at this anchorage in the evening March 4 to get a few hours sleep. We
did not go ashore, just a fishing village and no good landing. We never saw much signs of life, no
lights or generators, just structures. The wind started to build shortly after midnight; Sam felt that
we could sail off the hook and through the kelp beds. To you landlubbers, running the engine in
heavy kelp (in Spanish its called sargasso) can tangle the prop, so we use caution when motoring in
such areas. Besides, midnight was the time to leave to be sure of arriving in at our next stop during
daylight.
Isla San Martin. We arrived the evening of March 5, before sundown, and anchored in Caleta
Hassler, also known as “the hook.” This is an extinct volcano with two peaks. There was a fishing
village; when we landed there were signs of habitation - shacks, flapping clothes, overturned boats,
traps and lines – but no persons except ourselves that we could find. We hiked over to the lagoon
and observed the harbor seal colony from a distance (although we did see one beached seal up close
away from the rest of the seals, she may have been ill or dying). At one point during our little
excursion, we encountered some very nasty cactus (rather like balls with 1-inch long spikes) that
stuck on our shoes, socks, carry bags, etc. John Paul flung one off his bag and it flew across the path
and embedded itself in Susie’s shin and she screamed and had to pull her pants leg away from her skin
to get the sucker out. You couldn’t get them off with your hands because they stuck to
everything. Never want to see those little things again!
Isla San Benitos Oeste. We left San Martin about noon March 6 and arrived in the San Benito’s the
following afternoon. These are 3 small islands with a seasonal fishing village on Oeste (West) and
elephant seals on Oeste and Centro (Middle) and not much on Este (East). The anchorage off the
fishing village was beautiful and we went ashore that evening to find only a few fisherman and some
Italian researchers studying the elephant seal colonies. There were 2 large male “elefante marinos” on
the beach where we landed the dinghy, oblivious to the fishermen’s activities but very aware of us
coming ashore. They whuffled and blew dirt through their very large noses and whumped around
the beach trying to get away from us, so we left them alone. One of the fishermen escorted us
behind the village, showing us the path to the rookery (nursery) and El Faro (the lighthouse) and we
decided to make those trips the next day. The next day, Sam noticed that the large male branded
“Nico” on the landing beach did not seem to mind the comings and goings of the fishermen, so he
got very close in an attempt to touch him but “Nico” reared back and Sam fell on his butt backing
away. That attempt having failed, we were able to get very close to the pups at the rookery and
took some great pictures. John Paul hiked up to El Faro (the lighthouse) for a wonderful view of the
surrounding area. A great day, and Susie in particular enjoyed the elephant seals.
Turtle Bay. We left The Benitos on March 8 in the afternoon and did an overnight passage to Turtle
Bay. We took our dinghy ashore the next day, landing at the old pier and getting out of the dinghy
on a newly-welded angled ladder, which Susie was proud she could negotiate (the old one was
straight up and rotten wood). After leaving our laundry with Dolores for washing and line-drying, we
explored the town. We found an internet café and checked our email and ate lunch ashore, then
went back to pick up the laundry but it was not dry. So we made arrangements for fuel to be
brought to the boat the next morning – Sunday - by Ernesto, the brother of Dolores, and he brought
out our laundry in his panga with the diesel. We pulled anchor and took off again.
Bahia Abreojos. Susie was hoping to arrange for a tour of San Ignacio lagoon to see the whales up
close in this protected area, but it didn’t happen. We arrived March 12 and discovered that no tours
are run from Abreojos and even if we could have gotten a ride from someone in town (no taxis or
buses) to the inland side of San Ignacio it would have been 150 miles one way. With some help via
cell phone and internet from our ever-patient friend Kris Houck, we had lots of phone numbers and
people to talk to, but not the right people (as we later found out) because as far as they were
concerned, our boat being 10 miles from the mouth of the lagoon was the same as being in China.
Maybe next time, because we discovered from another cruiser at our next stop that there is a
certified tour group that will pick up cruisers from their boats if they anchor just outside the protected
lagoon. So instead of having a whale tour, we caught a fishing panga ashore (we rode with all the
traps and the fresh fish flopping in the hold) and arranged for return passage. There was an internet
connection at the library and we had lunch at a little place called Juanita’s. The panga ride back was
very interesting; our “taxi drivers” put their fishing gear back on and had the tractor push the panga
into the surf, then pushed it off the wheeled trailer and out, with one wading behind and one inside
using the oars. They had to wait for the right breaks in the heavy surf and we finally made it, and we
felt like rodeo contestants! Our pangeros were mucho macho!
Bahia Magdalena. We arrived on March 14 in this beautiful shallow bay and met a whale going out
right next to our boat as we came in. We arrived about 5 PM that evening and after setting the
anchor, had dinner and went to bed. The next morning Gregorio, the Port Captain, came out in his
panga and asked to see our check in papers and boat documentation, which we provided, and then
we signed his book and gifted him some tee shirts for himself and his wife. A very nice man. There
were three other boats in the anchorage (Sailsoon, Sweetie and Estrella). When we all got our
dinghies launched and landed ashore, we had lunch together at a little restaurant on the beach and
then dinghied over to the sand spit. After a hike over a half mile down a sand and dirt road, past the
swamps and mangroves, we came to Bahia Santa Maria (which opens directly onto the Pacific). This
beach is 11 miles long and we walked only a short part; Susie was hoping to find a sand dollar because
allegedly this beach is famous for them, and indeed one fine specimen was located. A second smaller
sand dollar was found, but it crumbled. She also collected a great many shells, on the beach at
Puerto Magdalena in town, and a few others at Santa Maria. John Paul treated us to dinner ashore
again at the restaurant (there is only one) where we had shrimp prepared with garlic and butter,
lobster prepared with garlic and butter, and breaded pan fried fresh white fish – all served up with
delicious warm flour tortillas and beans. All the seafood was local.
Cabo San Lucas. Arriving about noon on March 17, we got fuel and had an ice cream bar, then
went back out of the harbor and anchored off shore from hotel row along the beach. We made this
passage from Mag Bay without our auto pilot; there is something wrong with the motor so we had to
hand-steer the entire way and were more tired upon our arrival than usual after a long passage. The
weather was hot and the water looked so blue and clean and inviting, that we followed John Paul’s
lead and swam around the boat. The boarding ladder we so wished we had the last time we were in
the Sea of Cortez got used for the first time and it works great. It was a beautiful swim – we even
washed up with sailor soap. In the evening we took our dinghy into the harbor – a little wet and
lumpy ride – and tied up to show John Paul some of this expensive tourist trap. We saw Squid Roe
and The Giggling Marlin and decided to eat dinner at Cabo Wabo. It was not only St Patrick’s Day but
also spring break for many colleges, so the town was full of young people looking for a good time.
We left before things got too rowdy and back to the boat by 10 PM – after a mocha stop for John
Paul and gelatos at Senor Sweets for all. The anchorage was not as rolly as had been our experience
in the past and we decided not to pay $160 for one night of dock space. It was a comfortable
evening to sleep, after the banana boats and parasailers and jet-skiers got off the water.
Los Frailes. It was all motoring March 18 to our first official stop inside the Sea of Cortez – what little
wind there was came primarily from the north and on the nose. There were periodic patches of fog
and then sunshine. We saw lots of whales – spouting, showing their tails, even some breaching.
There were a few we got to see up fairly close, only a few boat lengths away. We also saw small
jumping manta rays when we got into the anchorage - they look like squares of black and white paper
trying to fly – a small school of flying fish, and the usual welcoming committee of large gray dolphin.
Los Muertos. This anchorage is named after the moorings called “dead men” which held the large
silver ore barges many years ago. An attempt has been made to rename the location “Bay of Dreams”
in hopes that more tourists will visit. The Giggling Marlin (out of Cabo San Lucas) has an establishment
here on the beach, a new facility with outdoor showers, nice clean restrooms and changing rooms
and a reasonable menu. We observed several families of local Mexicans and “Norte Americanos” who
live nearby enjoying the beach and the restaurant and there were several other cruising boats in the
anchorage. When scouting out a potential anchor site, we ran Catch The Wind aground in 5 feet of
water – the depth sounder went from 16 to 5 feet with no gradual decrease and we came to a
complete stop. Sam tried to power out and do a little dredging, but to no avail. So he hung the
bosun chair on the end of the boom, had John Paul sit in it, and swung him out over the side, and
had me push the boom out as far as possible. This little trick worked – putting more weight on one
side of the boat to allow it to heel over and raise up the keel – and we provided the evening’s
entertainment. We safely anchored a little further down the beach in 15 feet of water. Sam and
John Paul swam and Susie showered, then we went dinghied ashore to The Giggling Marlin for
dinner.
Ballandra Cove. Notice that since leaving Cabo San Lucas, we did not make any more overnight
passages. There are good anchorages about 8 to 10 hours apart inside the Sea of Cortez until you
get near La Paz, and then there are many more even closer together. We traveled to Ballandra on
March 20 and arrived about 3 PM, and this time we were the first boat inside the anchorage. Several
other boats came in after us, but there was room for all. We packed a picnic dinner and Sam made
two trips ashore in the Walker Bay rigged for sailing, first John Paul and the bags of stuff, then Susie.
We waded and swam and ate our dinner while watching the sun set behind Mushroom Rock (which
some cruising guides say is now a fiberglass replica, but Sam actually felt and knocked on the
mushroom rock and it is a rock and mortar reconstruction replacing the original natural rock because it
fell over many times – it is definitely NOT a natural formation now) and then Susie and Sam sailed back
in very little wind to the boat. We unrigged the WB and put on the oars to return to John Paul,
because it was getting dark fast and there was not enough wind to sail quickly. It was a very calm
evening until after midnight, when the wind came howling through the anchorage and continued
through until the morning; it probably gusted up to 25 knots or more at times and it was a wild
night. We left about 8 AM in the morning, with the sails stowed, and powered up the channel.
La Paz – City of Peace. It was a rough ride the morning of March 21 up the narrow channel to La
Paz, motoring into the wind and current, but the closer we got to the city, the flatter the waters
became. We tootled around the anchorage outside Marina de la Paz and finally picked out a spot in
about 20 feet of water. John Paul and Sam put up our brand new boat awning, which is a half-
cylinder shaped arrangement that runs from the back of the mast to the beginning of the solar panels
on the bimini at the stern. Susie told him that if he had parked the boat in the shade to start with,
we wouldn’t have to go to all that trouble! But our boat is distinctive – it looks like a covered
wagon.
While in La Paz, we did some laundry, enjoyed some meals out, walked the Embarcadero, had Thrifty
Ice Cream, went to the Mercado, bought fresh tortillas, etc. Susie played Mexican Train dominoes
with other cruisers. We stayed some of the time at the anchorage near Vista Coral which is a virtual
marina: you anchor out and pay a monthly fee of $106 then you can land at their dinghy dock, use
their showers and bathrooms, and have bottled water brought out to your boat. It’s much less
expensive than a marina which for our size boat costs about $27 per day or $600 per month.
We also attended a symphony in which our friend 13-year old Franck Rudigoz of Ocean Eyes played
the French horn. Franck, his mother Betsy and his step-dad Greg have a home in Los Barriles and
keep their boat at Marina Costa Baja. They come in to La Paz on weekends for Franck’s music lesson
and junior symphony rehearsals, and during the week he attends a Mexican private school; he is now
fluent in Spanish.
On March 26 another friend came down to visit us – Leah Pepe, a friend also of our crew John Paul
Watts and a member of SEA (Sailing Education Adventures) in the SF Bay Area. She spent a week
with us in the La Paz area, during which time we went out to some of the other anchorages in the La
Paz area and the islands. The day we left El Cardenal at Isla Partida we flew back to La Paz in a
“norther” which is a strong wind that comes up suddenly and briskly from the north in the Sea of
Cortez. This was just like an ordinary day on San Francisco Bay to the crew of Catch The Wind. We
tied up at Don Jose Marina back in La Paz to wait out the blow and make it more convenient for shore
trips, dining out, errands and sight-seeing for the crew and dental appointments for Sam. This marina
stay also prompted the visiting crew to clear the decks and completely wash down the boat – Catch
The Wind never looked better! Sam and Susie don’t know how they can keep up with the swabbing
when John Paul and Leah depart.
The night of March 28 we attended a special fund-raising event at Marina de la Paz – a traveling
troupe of tumblers, jugglers, trampoline jumpers and dancers, somewhat similar to Cirque du Soleil. It
was a very good cause and very good show as well. The night of March 29 we attended another
fund raiser at Ciao Molino, where for $5.00 and two cans of food (donation) we got a spaghetti
dinner and enjoyed a performance of South American music.
La Paz Vicinity. We departed the evening of Leah’s arrival for Playa Pichilingue, where we spent one
night at anchor. The next day we sailed and motored over to Los Islotes, famous for the colonies of
sea lions. While one person stayed on the boat and drifted about (there is no shallow water for an
anchorage here) the rest our little group of 4 swam in the beautiful water. John Paul and Leah had a
close encounter with a sea lion as they swam through the arch but it was gone by the time Susie
came through. We saw a lot of beautiful fish swimming directly underneath us, visible without snorkel
masks: garibaldi, clown fish, zebra striped fish among them (Susie doesn’t know the proper names of
all those pretty fish). Sam got into the water for a short swim, too. We are really enjoying the new
boarding ladder we have: it has 2 steps underneath the water and 3 steps above the water, with 6-
inch standoffs, and it is wonderful to be able to jump off the boat knowing that we can get back on.
(Last year we missed out on several opportunities to swim because we did not have a good, safe way
to get back on the boat; we had to climb partially up a stern ladder, fall into the dinghy and then
climb out of the dinghy back onto the boat.) During our passage out to Islotes and then back to the
islands to anchor for the night, we saw many jumping manta rays and then, to our great surprise, a
large blue (we think) whale very close to the boat – just thrilling! After dropping anchor at El
Cardenal, one of the many beautiful coves on Isla Partida. Leah and John Paul rowed ashore in the
dinghy and checked out the beach and mangroves. They hiked over to the east side of the island
(about a 15 minute hike). John Paul insisted on ladies first, so Leah got the blisters (even with
gloves) on the row ashore against the wind and John Paul the gentleman rowed back with the wind.
After John Paul and Leah had a cool swim the next morning, we briskly sailed back to La Paz.
On Friday, March 30, after Sam’s dental appointment, we left La Paz intending to anchor at Ballandra.
But the closer we got, the larger the swells became and the more intense the continuing north
wind. We saw a boat in the anchorage there heading back out, with their mast swaying like a
pendulum; we radioed them and got a report from Chinook that it was an impossible place to spend
any time unless you wanted to stay up all night watching, so we turned around and they followed us
back to Playa Pichilingue, where after a swim, we spent a nice evening and played Mexican Train
dominoes.
March 31 morning found us leaving Playa Pichilingue because of the large number of flies and moving
over to Lobos, where there were still some flies but not quite as bad. We anchored in quiet water.
John Paul and Leah swam ashore and hiked in the mangroves ashore, while Susie stayed on the boat
and prepared tax materials for the accountant and Sam read and slept. That evening we finished last
night’s Mexican Train.
Moving again because of the flies on April 1, we found much calmer waters outside the anchorage
than on previous days, so we motored on up to Ballandra and spent the day on the hook in relatively
calm and clear waters, with most everyone enjoying swimming, snorkeling, shelling, walking the
beach, sailing the dinghy, resting, sunning and reading.
The great thing about having two additional crew on the boat with Sam and Susie is that we have
enough people already on board to (1) make sourdough blueberry pancakes without looking for two
more guests to help us consume them, and (2) play Mexican Train! Leah flies home on April 2 and
John Paul plans to leave on April 4 (weather permitting) aboard the catamaran New Focus sailing from
La Paz back to San Francisco. We have very much enjoyed having these friends with us and invite
anyone else looking to get away for a little while to come on down and join us in the beautiful Sea of
Cortez.
Until next time,
Sam and Susie
S/V Catch The Wind
| March 2007 |